Operation Yellowstone

Operation Yellowstone was a US military operation which was conducted from 8 December 1967 to 24 February 1968 during the Vietnam War.

In the autumn of 1967, elements of the US 25th Infantry Division were dispatched to the Cambodian border to clear out northern Tay Ninh Province, which was infested with North Vietnamese and Viet Cong bases. In September 1967, the 3rd Battalion of the 25th Division was ambushed by the communists 9 miles north of the Tay Ninh Combat Base, so US Army platoons were sent into the jungle to hunt down the Viet Cong. US troops cleared out jungle bunkers and Viet Cong camps, and they also moved into villages to round up Viet Cong prisoners and burn down the homes, forcing the villagers into strategic hamlets. The operation continued into February 1968, with a notable clash occurring in the New Year's Day Battle of 1968. By the operation's end on 24 February 1968, 81 Americans and 1,254 communists had been killed.